Dean Cain says Teri Hatcher ‘carried’ ‘Lois & Clark’

Dean Cain believes that his most iconic project owes its success to Teri Hatcher — but he didn’t always understand her tireless work ethic.

“Overall, it was amazing. Incredible. What a way to start a career,” the former Ripley’s Believe It or Not host said, reflecting on playing Clark Kent/Superman to Hatcher’s Lois Lane on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, on Michael Rosenbaum‘s Inside of You podcast.

“I’m sure you don’t always get along great, but was she easy to work with?” Rosenbaum asked.

Cain said collaborating with his former costar on the show, which ran from 1993 to 1997, had its highs and lows.

“Sometimes the greatest thing in the world and sometimes a lot more difficult,” he said. “We had great chemistry. There were times where it was just the easiest thing in the world.”

The actor suggested that any friction between him and Hatcher stemmed from different working styles.

“I’m a team guy,” he said. “I’m real simple. Plug me in. Let’s go. Let’s rock and roll. I’m here to get this done as fast as we can. Would it help if I just jumped off the boxes? I could save us that entire stunt.”

Cain explained that he prioritized getting through a scene as quickly as possible rather than perfecting every detail of every sequence.

“I just wanted to finish and go home,” he said. “Let’s get it all done. Let’s all do the best we can, let’s get it done, let’s go home.”

“There were times where I felt like ‘I don’t think she wants to go home,’ because she’s worried about this one little thing that has nothing to do with what we’re doing, and that’s slowing us down for two and a half hours,” he recalled. “I don’t understand — don’t you wanna go home?”

Cain struggled to elaborate on what kinds of details would trip up his costar, but clarified that it didn’t impact the overall quality of her work.

“She’s a better actor. I’ll give it to her,” he said. “She carried the show. And I just got to react off her. It worked wonderfully.”

The actor also said that his costar remains his favorite screen portrayal of the intrepid Daily Planet reporter.

“She was an icon and I still think, no offense to anybody else’s Lois Lanes, but I still think she’s the best Lois Lane of all time,” he said.

Listen to the conversation between Cain and Rosenbaum above.